1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape feeder of a chip mounter, and more particularly, to a tape feeder in a chip mounter, which peels off a cover tape while transferring a chip mounter tape by a predetermined length and discharges or winds the peeled cover tape.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic parts such as semiconductor chip are difficult to treat piece by piece, and are prone to contamination by foreign matters such as dust. As shown in FIG. 1, chips 100 are handled by being packed in tapes. That is, the chips 100 are put in receiving spaces 12 formed apart from each other on a base tape 11, and sealed by a cover tape 13, thereby forming a chip tape 10.
The chip tape 10 is provided by a tape feeder (not shown) installed on a chip mounter for mounting the chips 100, for example, on a printed circuit board. That is, while the chip tape 10 is intermittently supplied by a predetermined length from the tape feeder, the base tape 11 and the cover tape 13 are separated from each other. Then, a chuck (not shown) provided in the chip mounter picks up the chips 100 from the receiving spaces 12.
The tape feeder, separating the cover tape 13 of the chip tape 10 from the base tape 11, winds the separated cover tape 13 on a reel or expels it to the outside.
An exemplary tape feeder of a chip mounter, which winds the separated cover tape on a reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,859. The tape feeder includes a transfer means for intermittently transferring the tape by a predetermined length from the feeder to a position to be mounted; means simultaneously operating with the transferring means for winding a cover tape from the tape; a shuttle road for connecting the winding means to the transferring means; and an actuator for reciprocating the shuttle road to drive the winding means and the transferring means. Here, the winding means includes a take up reel assembly and a planetary gear connected to a shaft interlocking with the take up reel assembly to rotate in only one direction.
Such an electronic part feeder requires to separate employment of a take up reel for winding the cover tape and a means for intermittently driving the take up reel, such that the structure of the feeder is relatively complicated.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional tape feeder that adopts a method of expelling a peeled cover tape to the outside.
Referring to FIG. 2, a pair of wheels 21 and 22 closely connected to each other are rotated intermittently by a driving means (not shown), so that a cover tape 13 sandwiched between the two wheels is expelled to the outside. The cover tape 13 is transferred by friction between the two wheels 21 and 22, and accordingly when an adhesive remains on the cover tape 13, it may be attached to and wound on the outer circumferential surface of the wheel without being smoothly discharged to the outside.
Also, the cover tape 13 has an irregular travel path, and easily deviates from an accurate contact portion between the wheels 21 and 22. Thus, the cover tape 13 may be escaped from the wheels 21 and 22.